My awful side effects from Strattera for ADHD

Hello all,

I've previously posted in misc.kids about my ADHD. In the event that
any of you are thinking about putting your kids on Strattera, or
taking it yourselves, I would like to share my own experience with
awful side effects, though with the caveat that our brain chemistry is
all different and plenty of people have had a good experience with it.
I've made the decision to get off Strattera and go back to Ritalin.

I'm a 34YO woman who first took Ritalin 29 years ago. I was on and
off of it during childhood, and then went back on at the age of 24 so
that I could complete my education, get a professional degree, and
stop wasting my life staring out the window (Ritalin made it possible
for me go from daydreaming, spacey factory worker to trial attorney).

However, it became apparent to me a couple months ago that Ritalin was
making me obsessive-compulsive (for example, I was going to my office
at about 7:45 a.m. and sometimes staying all day, working through
lunch and supper, and then leaving around midnight). I talked to my
doctor, and he put me on Strattera. Well, the Strattera hasn't helped
me focus as well as Ritalin did (though it helps somewhat with my
ability to focus), but it has made me unable to do any sort of manual
labor (such as mow my lawn!!!), makes me weak and faint, makes me
sweat buckets(I now end up sometimes going home at lunch to change my
shirt), and gives me terrible mood swings. It has also made it hard
for me to sleep.

I have become horribly irritable, and spent today bitching at my
significant other (who fortunately is very understanding and tolerant
about what I'm going through) over completely unreasonable things (for
example, he was trying to assist me with parallel parking, and I felt
total rage envelope me; I became furious and accused him of being
paternalistic and condescending; this is not my normal behavior).

As for the side effect of physical weakness, I haven't been able to
exercise, or even dig a hole in my yard to plant a small fruit tree,
and before I went on Strattera, I used to walk, do strenuous yard
work, work on my house, and so on. It is ridiculous that one should
have difficulty carrying even a basket of laundry from one room to the
next!

I'm going to call my doctor on Monday. I would much rather be my
happy and energetic self on Ritalin and suffer through the obsessive
side-effects than have the laundry list of side effects I've had to
suffer with Strattera. One side effect with Ritalin compared with
about 5 side effects with Strattera? Give me the Ritalin any day.

Andrea Baker

While I am terribly sorry about what you're going through, I feel I have to
issue a warning about Ritalin as well.

I was put in Ritalin before there even was a term like "ADHD", which I find
myself questioning to this very day. My parents decided I was hyperactive since
I wasn't doing well enough in school to suit them or paying sufficient
attention at home, and found a doctor who was willing to write an ongoing
prescription. They told ME it was a vitamin supplement.

From age 9 - 14, I was on this crap. When we moved to another state, my parents
tried to get our new doctor to renew the prescription. He was outraged that I'd
ever been on it at all, and that was the first time that I really learned what
I'd been taking all those years.

I'm now 43. I will live with the effects of the Ritalin for the rest of my
life. It effectively backfired. I am a very nervous person, I somtimes have
difficulty paying attention or concentrating on a task for an extended period
of time. This can make getting a decent job rather difficult, I have learned.
And did I mention my digestive problems? I can only eat very plain and ordinary
foods. I can't even go to a fancy resturant. So much for most social
situations. All thanks to Ritalin.

The level to which Ritalin is prescribed these days, especially to children,
scared the bloody hell out of me. Because I suspect that the vast majority of
them, like me, should NOT be on it. And we're going to pay for that, if we're
not already.

Some might say that there's probably some pill out there that would help me
with my present problems. No thank you. I would rather use the strength of my
own will to do the best I can on my own than EVER be reliant on another
god-da**ed drug for the rest of my life.

I don't know how you can tell what you would be like if you did not get put
on Ritalin. I suspect that you would have had problems concentrating, GI
problems, etc., if you did not get put on Ritalin as a kid. Unfortunately,
there is no way to tell.

Jeff

"GI Trekker" wrote in message
...
While I am terribly sorry about what you're going through, I feel I have
to
issue a warning about Ritalin as well.

I was put in Ritalin before there even was a term like "ADHD", which I
find
myself questioning to this very day. My parents decided I was hyperactive
since
I wasn't doing well enough in school to suit them or paying sufficient
attention at home, and found a doctor who was willing to write an ongoing
prescription. They told ME it was a vitamin supplement.

From age 9 - 14, I was on this crap. When we moved to another state, my
parents
tried to get our new doctor to renew the prescription. He was outraged
that I'd
ever been on it at all, and that was the first time that I really learned
what
I'd been taking all those years.

I'm now 43. I will live with the effects of the Ritalin for the rest of my
life. It effectively backfired. I am a very nervous person, I somtimes
have
difficulty paying attention or concentrating on a task for an extended
period
of time. This can make getting a decent job rather difficult, I have
learned.
And did I mention my digestive problems? I can only eat very plain and
ordinary
foods. I can't even go to a fancy resturant. So much for most social
situations. All thanks to Ritalin.

The level to which Ritalin is prescribed these days, especially to
children,
scared the bloody hell out of me. Because I suspect that the vast majority
of
them, like me, should NOT be on it. And we're going to pay for that, if
we're
not already.

Some might say that there's probably some pill out there that would help
me
with my present problems. No thank you. I would rather use the strength of
my
own will to do the best I can on my own than EVER be reliant on another
god-da**ed drug for the rest of my life.